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Topic: always hide your bees.. (Read 4406 times)

The complainers have it mostly in their heads that something is wrong.

If you have a hive, any buzzing sound near them is your fault.

I am a pipe smoker and have conducted a couple social experiments over the years. I have boarded a city bus with my pipe in my mouth (unlit and with no tobacco in it). I have been yelled at by the drivers who threaten to kick me off till I informed them that the pipe was not lit and no smoke was coming from it. The best part is from fellow passengers. I have had more than one lady get on the bus, look at me and then for the rest of the ride, they cough and wave their hand in front of their face as if smoke were really there. Had one lady get in my face and such about the evils of tobacco. She went on and on non-stop for several minutes till she paused to take a breath at which point I calmly explained that the pipe was empty and that if she were to use her eyes rather than her imagination, she would see that there was not a wisp of smoke on the bus. I was called some words that would get me banned here and she promptly sat back down and glared at me for the rest of the ride.

Yes, complainers are everywhere and they usually imagine stuff up to complain about.

Duck,I am sorry to hear about the trouble you have had with her. I keep my hives hidden on my property, even though I am in the county and on 5 acres. I have neighboors around me and if they knew I am sure they would complain about it to some one or try to take matters into their own hands. So I go against what we are told bees need. My hives are in the shade, just sitting inside the tree line and I ightly burn my hive bodies and the apply a clear coat so that they blend in with the woods. I have my property fenced and no trespassing signs up on all sides, so if any one gets onto my property and gets stung its their own fault.

Logged

"It's better to die upon your feet than to live upon your knees!" Zapata

well had to move all my hives to avoid the animal services director from recommending an ordinance be written.. He gave me a heads up and I decided to not effect all the other beeks within the city limits because I live next to the one person with a problem.. she claimed I was trying to KILL her. Ironically, the branches on her orange tree in her backyard are touching the ground because of the weight of the fruit. howardaj31 let me move hives to his property outside of town, and I am about to pickup 2 other yards at 20 acres each. Im saturating the area and think I have to many hives in one spot now.. lol let her biatch.. she cant stop my plans for world domination! muhahhahahah

... I'm a funny old backwoods Alabama cuss. I've bought and paid for every square inch I'm living on and I'll be darned if some ahole will tell me what I can and can do on my own property, I'll burn it to the ground before I let that happen.

I don't find anything strange about it Dave. That is supposedly what Colonial General Thomas Sumter from South Carolina did when he torched his own home in the face of the Red Coats as they were occupying Charleston, South Carolina. He is supposed to have remarked that he was saving the British the trouble and the expense of burning it to the ground themselves. Bless men and women like him!!! We need more of them.

Wow, reading all that really makes me appreciate the enlightened area in which I live, that I probably take for granted. Our county recently passed codes that respect the right of Beek's. My neighbors are all great but in Howard county MD if someone has a problem with your B's and refuses to listen to reason, (That honeybees are harmless, a great help to the environment, and in trouble) you can tell them to take a long walk off a short pier. CheersDrew

At first they were really happy accepting our honey gifts and a frame or two of comb for their kids. Then someone got stung, of course it was one of 'our' bees. There are lots of hobby beekeepers in the area. The lady next door swatted with her hand a bee that landed in her hair. Hmmm, it stung her.

They even downloaded and printed our Apiarists Code Of Conduct, which I have read a few times. Dutifuly highlighted all the thingss we 'allegedly' were not doing right. They did pick me up on one point though, I had not labelled my hives with my registration number. Easily fixed. They were nitpicking and trying to find a reason to declare our apiary 'illegal' no doubt.

They complained to the local council. However, in this case they council was 100% on our side and said we could keep our beehives.

I don't think hiding our hives would have worked, they are very nosy, and the lady often enters our backyard permaculture garden to help herself to lettuce and show the kids our chooks. I did not mind at all except it is usually followed by some complaint or another, a tree growing too close, a rooster too loud, something wrong with the fence, the bees are attacking, there is too much of 'your' water flowing onto our place.... So I agree that if people cannot see or hear something they won't complain. I hate to say it, but I think we Australians are turning into a nation of whingers.

Now I am concerned that one of their kids might stub their toe or step on a bee and we will get sued, so we have politely asked them not to trespass. Which is a shame, kids should be educated about gardening and bees and chooks etc.

I did move our hive about 20 feet away from their fence, at their request. But I doubt it will make a lot of difference to the amount of bees flying in their general direction. Anyway, we have not heard about any bee incidents for about 6 months, so all good for now.

If it is any consolation, she will wear out before she does you any real damage. She is probably getting mostly wasps this time of year anyway. I know it is aggravating. I don't keep my bees in town but my pickup always ends up with some syrup or honey on the bed and I attract wasps and am becoming a seasonal pariah. I wash it off religiously but once the wasps zero in, you are the first place they look. Minimize your grief by not leaving anything attractive to wasps out.

Have you tried making a wasp trap? It's about half cup sugar, one cup apple cider vinegar, two cups of water, and a banana peel in a 2 liter that's had the top cut off and flipped. From what I understand, they work remarkably well, and hopefully can weaken the wasps enough to kill off the hives wherever they are. (My love for bees is only matched by my hatred for yellowjackets.)